Modeling and analysis of the historical masonry structures

Abstract

The modeling and the analysis of the historical masonry structures are difficult and complex tasks. Modeling and analysis procedures can be adequately carried out provided that deep knowledge is collected about the history of the building being analyzed, physical and mechanical characteristics of material and structure, buildings current condition and load carrying capacity of the structure itself. With this thesis, an overview of the modeling and analysis methodologies of the historical masonry structures are presented. The focus of the thesis is on the use of 3D Finite Element Modeling technique and linear elastic analysis to evaluate the accuracy of the model and to determine whether 3D FEM model can be used for assessment. For this purpose, 105 years old masonry building (Hemdat Israel Synagogue) was selected for the case study. The synagogue was investigated under vertical and horizontal (earthquake type) loads. In order to evaluate the expected response of the structure, linear elastic analyses were performed using the program SAP 2000 version 9.1. The effect of the large window frames within the masonry building on the seismic behavior of the structure was also studied. For this purpose, two different models one of which is with window frames and the other is without window frames were modeled and analyzed. Finally the strength demand of the elements of the structure was compared with the elastic assumed capacities of the materials and the results were discussed.